Various beverage dispensers, such as those at cafeterias, restaurants, theatres and other entertainment and/or food service venues, typically have either a “drop in” dispenser apparatus or a counter top type dispenser apparatus. In a drop in dispenser apparatus, the dispenser apparatus is self-contained and may be dropped into an aperture of a counter top. In a counter top type dispenser apparatus, the dispenser apparatus is placed on a counter top. In conventional beverage dispensers, a dispensing head is coupled to a particular drink syrup supply source via a single pipe dedicated to supply the particular drink syrup to that dispensing head, wherein the particular drink syrup supply source is typically located near the counter top, i.e., directly under the counter top, or directly over the counter top.
A user will typically place a cup under the signage of the selected beverage and either press a button or press the cup against a dispensing lever to activate the dispenser so that the selected beverage is delivered from the dispensing head corresponding to the selected beverage and into the cup until pressure is withdrawn from the button or lever.
Conventional beverage dispensers are limited to dispensing a limited number of drinks. For example, drinks typically available at a conventional beverage dispenser are a regular cola beverage, a diet cola beverage, perhaps one or several non-cola carbonated beverages, such as a lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage or some other fruit-flavored drink (e.g., orange flavored carbonated beverage, and/or root beer), and perhaps one more non-carbonated beverage(s), such as a tea and/or a lemonade.
Conventional dispensers dose simultaneously components of a mixture or beverage, and the final product is obtained as a result of mixing of two or more continuous flows of the product components. This conventional approach may work well when only low concentrated components are used. If, however, one or more of the components is highly concentrated, the flow rate of such highly concentrated component(s) required for continuous mixing becomes very small. In order to create and maintain such very small and stable flows, very precise and thus more expensive dosing and dispensing equipment is required. Less expensive but less precise equipment may be able to dose highly concentrated components with required level of accuracy, but the resulting flow rate of the created flow of such components may be unacceptably high and thus inappropriate for continuous mixing of flows.
Conventional dispensers typically comprise a cardboard box and a bag, also called “bag-in-box” or “BIB.” Other conventional dispensers comprise a cartridge that does not contain a bag. Cartridges of conventional dispensers are not configured in a manner that prevents a cartridge from being inserted in an incorrect location in a cartridge frame. Among other things, it would be beneficial to have cartridges that are less expensive to make and easier to use than cartridges of conventional dispensers.
What is needed is a cartridge that does not have the limitations and disadvantages of conventional cartridges.